Road RacingTo Be DeterminedAugust 11, 2014Pennsylvania, Adventure, Millersburg

Tour de Millersburg Race Report

Road RacingTo Be DeterminedAugust 11, 2014Pennsylvania, Adventure, Millersburg

Tour de Millersburg is one of our favorite races on the East Coast. As Photo Rhetoric documented, the race easily makes up for what it may lack in scale with absolutely unparalleled community support. It also doesn't hurt that last year the team scored a GC podium with Ashley Doane's strong performance across all three stages. Either way, this past weekend saw the team headed back to Millersburg with a squad of five racers and one bulldog, all primed for a weekend of racing and relaxing in the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside.

Tour de Millersburg Race Report by Dan Cleiman

Team Sixcycle RK&O returned to Millersburg for the 2014 edition what we consider one of the best races on the calendar - a journey that started on Friday night as I joined Bryan Fried, Roger Parmelee, Colin Tanner and Matt Vandivort for the drive to Harrisburg, with a stop for food and a few cold pre-race beverages.

Stage #1 was the 10 mile Lorena Lemons Time Trial, for which the squad selected a wide range of strategies and equipment - varying from a full TT bike setup to simply coasting and using it as openers for the criterium stage to follow. While our TT times weren’t anything to write home about, the free chocolate milk combined with a breakfast of ham egg and cheese sandwiches at Daniel's Cafe made for a great start to all of the action.

Stage 2 was what we were waiting for: the famous PM Cataldo Muggio Criterium – a fast and punchy four corner crit with a short steep climb at every lap. As a team we knew the strategy… stay at the front and use the momentum from the downhill to minimize work up the climb. Yet, lap after lap, we were doing #toomanywatts up the hill… And lap after lap it took its toll on the pack, thinning down the pack. Amongst the squad Colin Tanner suffered the most and hung on for a top 10 finish.

While we weren't seriously targeting the GC omnium, given the lack of results, we decided to do what we do best and hang out over some good brews, food, and shooting some pool at the local bar, the Wooden Nickel, though after several rounds of beverages we devised a whole series of alternative names.

After an early evening, we were all ready and excited for the road race which consisted of multiple laps of a just under 20 mile loop that starts in downtown Millersburg. We absolutely love this course and the addition of the KOM last year makes for a really fun rolling loop with open expanses that exposes the field to significant crosswinds (which unfortunately we not blowing this year). The finish is highly technical after a long downhill where positioning is key, some traffic furniture, a roundabout, and a 500m sprint to the line.

With some bad luck that included two mechanicals we closed out the Tour de Millersburg with pretty limited results on the bike, but we loved every moment of the weekend. If you haven’t done this race yet, mark it on your calendar for next year!